Before the race in Las Vegas: Formula 1 driver relents in dispute with world association boss

Mercedes driver George Russell has stepped up in the conflict between the Formula 1 drivers and the world motorsport association FIA. “There are some drivers who are fed up with the situation and to a certain extent it just seems to be going in the wrong direction,” said the Brit before the Grand Prix in Las Vegas in the direction of FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and called the surprising separation from German race director Niels Wittich a “prime example of the fact that we are not involved in these discussions.”

After the race in Brazil, the FIA ​​announced the departure of Wittich, who had held the job since 2022. According to a media report, Wittich denied that he had resigned – as communicated by the FIA ​​- because he wanted to focus on other tasks.

Although the drivers had repeatedly complained about what they saw as contradictory interpretations of the rules and penalties, a separation from Wittich was apparently not the goal. “It’s no secret that some people weren’t happy with the decisions that were made. But at the end of the day, he worked with us and I think we could have helped to improve the problem,” said Russell, who served as Driver representatives are among the managers in the driver representation GPDA.

Drivers continue to wait for the Fia to respond

Russell also reported that there had been no response from the FIA ​​to the letter published by the GPDA two weeks ago. “I’m a little surprised about it, maybe there’s something else to come,” Russell said. In the letter, the drivers defended themselves against Ben Sulayem’s reprimands and wrote: “Our members are adults, they do not need to receive instructions from the media about things as trivial as wearing jewelry and underpants.”

The pilots also demanded information about what happens to the fines. “We want that transparency and understanding what we were promised from the beginning,” Russell said. A meeting with Ben Sulayem is not difficult to get. “Getting changes and promises kept seems more challenging. Maybe the FIA ​​or the President didn’t realize how serious we are,” said Russell, explaining why the drivers posted the letter on a dedicated Instagram account had published. “We want to work with the FIA ​​and, in our opinion, that hasn’t happened at all so far, at least not directly from the president.”